Phil and Merry were kind enough to provide coordinates to Garden Reef, a site near Abalone Cove. This reef is about the size of a large school bus but is currently home to many species of nudibranchs. I met Scott and Margaret at the dock at King Harbor and we schlepped our dive gear down to the Popeye Maru. We wanted to get out early to avoid the wind. Conditions weren't sterling, but better than they had been recently. We had a three foot swell out of the SW and wind chop on the bay. We motored around Rocky Point and arrived at the dive site just as Phil, Merry, and Kevin pulled in behind us. We dropped into murky water; visibility sucked but we were shooting macro so being able to see more than a few feet wasn't crucial. Temperature was a chilly 56 degrees. I was able to get off a few shots before my strobes died (may be old batteries or the charger). Anyway, I got bored after a while and returned to the boat early. Scott came up early, too. Margaret surfaced much later and kept saying, "That was SO MUCH FUN!"

We opted not to do a second dive on Garden Reef and ran back around the point to the wreck of the crane. I went in the water first. A current was running on the surface but visibility was better than it had been on the first dive. With my strobes not working, I shot a few available light shots and explored the site before calling it a day.